In my spare moments this week, I’ve been working on a logo animation for Strange RSS, LLC (the company I started to create Stranger Things).
At fourteen seconds, this is a bit longer than I want. I’ll end up cutting a few seconds out of the middle for the “long version” (8-10 seconds), and fading to black at 4-5 seconds for the short version.
I could also chop it in half and have two options for an animation.
I’ve done a lot of VFX insertions into live footage, but this is my first attempt at completely artificial photorealism. Color choice seems to be everything in photorealism. Nothing is ever true white or true black, it’s a lot of grays and irregularities and asymmetrical details until it looks right.
A few weeks back, J.C. Hutchins invited me to come on his program “Hey Everybody!” to talk about our collaboration on Disconnect, the nature of storytelling, and the process of making a low-budget film.
It runs about 45 minutes long, and is one of the more in-depth discussions I’ve ever recorded about these topics. If you’re a filmmaker or know one, it’s worth a listen.
While you’re at it, consider picking up a copy of J.C. Hutchins’ Personal Effects: Dark Art. This isn’t a paid endorsement, but I think as a storyteller it’s important to keep up with where the craft is going, and what J.C. is doing with Personal Effects is close to revolutionary. It’s worth your time, if only for a master class in storytelling.
Posted 8 months, 3 weeks ago at 5:38 am. Add a comment
Just finished a great interview with JC Hutchins for his podcast Hey Everybody (great, a very in-depth piece that will be out next week), and while I was browsing around afterward, I found out JC had already been talking about Ep05: Disconnect on Geek Cred with Steve Riekeberg.
I’m posting this in my feed because I really think JC nails a lot of the challenges and the ideas we worked with on Disconnect, and if you enjoyed the episode, this little behind-the-scenes preview will be a fun snack before JC’s interview with me drops on Thursday. The whole interview is terrific, but if you want to fast-forward to the Disconnect talk, roll forward to about 29:50.
I think of Geek Cred as the NPR of geek podcasting, and host Steve Riekeberg is definitely living up to the name. If you like this episode, check out the interviews he did with Jonathan Coulton, Leo Laporte, and Wil Wheaton, among others. I think Terry Gross is the only one who has him beat for geek media guests.
Posted 9 months, 1 week ago at 12:33 am. Add a comment
As Episode 05: Disconnect circulates through the Internet and we wrap up Singularity 2009 (Did I say Balticon?), I’m setting my sights on the next episode for Stranger Things.
I did an impromptu Twitterpoll and the audience voted overwhelmingly for Mur Lafferty’s time-travel/mystery/romance piece “I Look Forward to Remembering You.”
I originally heard the story on episode 61 of Escape Pod, and knew even then that it was something I wanted to do.
This week I’m going to download Escape Pod #61, reacquaint myself with Mur’s story, and begin the adaptation process.
I’ll be posting updates here and on Twitter as I work through the script. Post your thoughts about the story and what it means to you. I’ll be referring back to these comments as I construct the screenplay, and eventually, the movie.
When their prize reality star goes missing, a monolithic network enlists the aid of the entire world to find him.
Disconnect (Stranger Things episode 5) just went live on the site yesterday. Feedback is good so far. Leave your comments below or on the site itself.
Written and Directed by Earl Newton
Story by J.C. Hutchins and Earl Newton
Produced by Earl Newton and Juan A. Baez III
Starring Jonathan MacQueen, James Donadio, and Rachel White
Posted 9 months, 2 weeks ago at 8:07 pm. Add a comment
Just completed the second draft of Pure Love (aka episode 5 of Stranger Things).
Without sounding like a broken record: we’re taking the bar up another notch. Psychologically, visually, conceptually, this may be one of the most raw stories we’ve told yet.
From one of my early readers:
“This is a killer tale of addiction, desperation, and need.”
Posted 1 year, 6 months ago at 7:38 pm. Add a comment
